Scott Fletcher (baseball)

Scott Brian Fletcher (born July 30, 1958), is a former professional baseball player who played shortstop and second base in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1995. Fletcher is related to Michael Barrett, who also played for the Chicago Cubs.[1] Fletcher graduated from Wadsworth High School in Wadsworth, Ohio in 1976.

Scott Fletcher
Fletcher as coach for the Atlanta Braves in 2012
Shortstop / Second baseman
Born: (1958-07-30) July 30, 1958
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 25, 1981, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1995, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Batting average.262
Home runs34
Runs batted in510
Teams

Playing career

Fletcher was signed by the Chicago Cubs in the 1979 amateur draft and made his major league debut with the team in 1981. After two years in a limited role, the Cubs traded Fletcher to their intercity rival, the Chicago White Sox in 1983. With the emergence of Ozzie Guillén in 1985, Fletcher was traded to the Texas Rangers at the end of the 1985 season. In 1986 he hit .300 (15th best in the American League) for the Rangers and was named the American League Player of the Month for July. In 1988, Fletcher became the first professional athlete in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to earn more than $1 million a year.[2][3] After a slow start to the 1989 season, which saw him bat only .239 through 83 games, Fletcher was traded back to the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline. Fletcher would split the remaining seasons of his career with the White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, and Detroit Tigers. He retired in 1995.[4]

When reflecting on Fletcher's playing career, Bill James noted that Fletcher "didn't do anything exceptionally well" and that he mainly "filled a slot", though he ranked him the 85th best shortstop of all time.[5]

Coaching career

After retiring in 1995, Fletcher became the manager for the minor league Charleston RiverDogs in 1997. He later became an assistant coach at Emory University from 1999 to 2004. Fletcher became the Colorado Rockies' infield coordinator in 2009. He was hired as an assistant hitting coach to Greg Walker on October 21, 2011.[6] Fletcher left the Braves at the end of the 2014 season.[7] Scott is currently a minor league instructor for the Detroit Tigers.

Legacy
George W. Bush named his dog Spot Fetcher after Fletcher.

George W. Bush named his dog Spot Fetcher after Fletcher while Bush was the owner of the Texas Rangers. The dog, an English Springer Spaniel, remained with the Bushes throughout George W. Bush's term as Governor of Texas (1995–2000) but died in 2004 during Bush's first term as US President.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2013-04-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. http://rangers.scout.com/2/729837.html
  3. "And Here We Go Again". CNN. December 19, 1988.
  4. "Scott Fletcher". baseball-reference.
  5. James, Bill (2003-04-06). The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. New York: Free Press. p. 642. ISBN 0743227220.
  6. "Braves tab Walker as new hitting coach". atlantabraves.com. 21 October 2011.
  7. Bowman, Mark (October 3, 2014). "Gonzalez to remain Braves skipper; Porter hired to coach". MLB.com. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
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